Q. Lately some friends have begun attending a church that doesn’t have membership; a person who simply attends is considered a member. Is this right?

A. In the last few decades an increasing number of churches have gone this route, particularly so-called megachurches. The Bible doesn’t specifically use the word member concerning local churches, and I am not going to judge those churches that do not have what we might call formal membership. However, I believe a positive, Biblically harmonious case can be made for it.

A. Samuel was to anoint a new king to take the place of wicked King Saul. God instructed Samuel to go to Jesse the Bethlehemite to find a king among his sons. Verse 7 says that the Lord warned Samuel not to evaluate the sons by their looks, “for the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” After God indicated that the sons, one by one, were not whom He had in mind, verse 12 says that there was one son left, “so he sent and brought him [David] in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good looking. And the Lord said, ‘Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!’”

World News June 18: The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an order that the Department of Justice must respond to a rehearing request regarding the legal status of a German homeschooling family. Read more about this and other news.

World News June 4: Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are active in seven states responding to damage from floods, tornadoes, and other disasters on the eve of hurricane season. Read more about this and other news.

World News May 14: An IRS campaign to apply additional scrutiny to conservative groups included those focused on government spending, the Constitution, and several other broad areas. Read more about this and other news.

World News May 10: A House committee has launched an investigation in response to the trial of the abortion practitioner charged with multiple counts of infanticide. Read more about this and other news.

World News May 7: In a huge victory for pro-life advocates taking on the controversial HHS mandate, the Obama administration is giving up its effort to force a Bible publisher to obey it. Read more about this and other news.

World News March 29: Florida Gov. Rick Scott has stepped into the fray concerning a professor who told students to write the word “Jesus” on a piece of paper, throw it on the floor, and stomp on it. Read more about this and other news.

World News March 26: Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen of Iranian descent imprisoned in Tehran, tells of the torture he has endured for his faith as well as the joy that comes with forgiving his perpetrators. Read more about this and other news.

World News March 22: Redefining marriage to include same-sex couples would jettison the rationale and logic behind prohibitions on polygamous marriages, according to several friend-of-the court briefs. Read more about this and other news.

World News March 19: The island nation of Cyprus made headlines, and rattled markets across the Western world, by announcing a raid on private bank accounts this week. Read more about this and other news.

World News March 12: Leaders at this past week’s National Religious Broadcasters conference warned that Christians may soon be forced to practice civil disobedience. Read more about this and other news.

World News March 8: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s unmanned Predator B drone fleet has been custom designed to identify civilians carrying guns and track cell phone signals. Read more about this and other news.

World News March 1: John Freshwater got a day in court as his latest attempt to get reinstated as a schoolteacher was presented in oral arguments before the Ohio Supreme Court. Read more about this and other news.

World News Feb. 19: China’s Christians felt a noticeable rise in persecution in 2012 as the Communist government began the first of a three-phase plan to eradicate unregistered house churches. Read more about this and other news.

World News Feb. 8: The Department of Justice has developed a white paper outlining the circumstances under which the U.S. can conduct a drone strike against an American citizen. Read more about this and other news.

World News Feb. 5: The National Black Prolife Coalition has lobbied to have its Twitter account restored after the social media company yanked the group’s Tweeting privileges. Read more about this and other news.

World News Jan. 25: The head of a Messianic Jewish ministry says it’s too early to know just what kind of government might emerge from Tuesday’s surprise election results in Israel. Read more about this and other news.

World News Jan. 11: A pastor’s withdrawal from President Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony has left Christians lamenting over what they see as a new era of religious intolerance. Read more about this and other world news.

World News Jan. 8: A report in WorldNetDaily notes that Barack Obama’s criticism of congressional efforts to protect the faith-based values of military chaplains is disturbing on many levels. Read more about this and other world news.

World News Jan. 4: Tens of thousands of Americans have committed to support Hobby Lobby on Jan. 5 after courts have refused to issue a ruling stopping the HHS mandate. Read more about this and other news.

World News Dec. 21: A federal appeals court sided with two colleges in a decision related to the ongoing court challenges to the Obama administration’s birth control mandate. Read more about this and other news.

World News Dec. 11: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up two cases that could either lead to the legalization of gay marriage nationwide or affirm the right to protect traditional marriage. Read more about this and other news.

World News Nov. 2: In an unprecedented move for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, all large-capacity mobile kitchens in the fleet east of the Rocky Mountains have been asked to mobilize in response to Hurricane Sandy. Read more about this and other news.

World News Oct. 30: As cities up and down the East Coast were preparing for Hurricane Sandy, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief leaders were preparing for a large-scale response. Read more about this and other news.

World News Oct. 26: An urgent request from the CIA annex for military back-up during the attack on the U.S. Consulate and subsequent attack several hours later was indeed denied by U.S. officials. Read more about this and other news.

World News Oct. 23: A 23-year military intelligence veteran is casting strong suspicion on weekend statements from Barack Obama’s re-election campaign that talks with Iran are imminent. Read more about this and other news.

World News Oct. 16: About 25 to 30 Christian college students were massacred at a university in northeastern Nigeria, causing Christians to pray for a “change of heart” among the Islamist group Boko Haram. Read more about this and other news.

World News Oct. 12: A school district will pay hefty legal fees after a federal appeals court decided that the district committed viewpoint discrimination by not allowing a Christian club to remain part of a school’s activities program. Read more about this and other news.

World News Oct. 5: A college student who claims he once had same-sex attractions but became heterosexual after conversion therapy has filed a lawsuit against California. Read more about this and other news.

World News Oct. 2: Thousands of conservative Christians gathered Saturday on Independence Mall in Philadelphia to pray for the future of the United States in the weeks before the presidential election. Read more about this and other news.

World News Sept. 18: Missouri lawmakers have ignored the warnings of the Obama administration and overrode their governor’s veto to enact religious exemptions to the abortion pill mandate. Read more about this and other news.

World News Sept. 14: Anti-American protests erupted across the Middle East Friday, following weeklong demonstrations outside of several U.S. embassies and a 9/11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya. Read more about this and other news.

World News Sept. 11: Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was sentenced to death in his country for his Christian faith, has been acquitted of apostasy charges and released from custody. Read more about this and other news.

World News Sept. 7: After excluding God from their platform, Democrats hurriedly rewrote their convention platform Wednesday amid criticism to add a mention of God and declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Read more about this and other news.

World News Aug. 31: Republicans approved a party platform at their national convention Tuesday that would ban all abortions and gay marriages and reshape Medicare. Read about this and other world news.

World News Aug. 28: A federal appeals court has determined a federal judge was right to throw out a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama’s decision to force taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research. Read more about this and other world news.

World News Aug. 21: The joint study from two conservative groups, Liberty Institute and the Family Research Council, reveals proven hostility toward Christianity in the U.S. Read more about this and other news.

World News Aug. 17: Authorities took a gunman into custody in the wake of a shooting Wednesday at the headquarters of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. Read more about this and other news.

World News Aug. 14: Mitt Romney’s announcement that Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan is his VP choice is getting widespread approval within the conservative community. Read more about this and other news.